My oldest daughter is Frances. I adopted her in 1999 from Nanning, Guangxi, when she was 12 months old. As my first child, she holds a very special place in my heart. She is smart and loves reading, television, drawing & eating carbohydrates. She has been taking Suzuki violin since she was 5 years old.
In 2001, I met my darling daughter Analise; she was 18 months old and from Hanchuan, Hubei. Ana is an old soul and a ray of sunshine - everyone who meets her adores her. She has a host of speech and learning disabilities that have never frustrated her (or me!). She puts her all into everything she does. She is the smallest of the kids! In China, our guide called her "the little general," small but mighty. Ana loves drawing, playing on the swing set and reading.
Well, now Mr Lew. I saw his photo on an agency photolist for waiting children and was so drawn to him. He was reported to be sweet, gentle and a very quiet boy.......HAHAHA[snort]HARHAR. Lewis screeched his way through China and hasn't really stopped. I adopted him in 2004, he was 2 and living in Suzhou, Jiangsu. He spent his first year home screaming, scratching his sisters and trying to yank their hair out. He is pretty much domesticated, although he bursts into tears at least once a day. Lewis loves monster trucks, riding his bike, playing with his little stuffed animals (whom all oddly, are somehow related to one another) and watching monster truck videos. He's a strange and silly boy. Next week he starts kindergarten and I'm sure the principal will have my number on speed dial.
In July 2006, I adopted Elizabeth, who was 4 1/2 years old. WHEW! This girl wears me out. She has a lot of the classic attachment disorder symptoms that scare people away from adopting older kids! We've done a lot of work together in the past year+ and still have a very long way to go. Elly is quite hyper and will go away with anyone who looks at her with a smile. She was born in Inner Mongolia and moved to Beijing at 3 1/2 yo. English is her THIRD language! She likes to swim, run, color, listen to stories and go on adventures with her family! Lewis and Elizabeth were born one day apart. The principal's speed dial will come in handy.
There you have it - everything you ever wanted to know and then some!
4 comments:
As a veteran of all four trips to China, I would like to add a few comments:
FRANCES was the saddest, until we bought her a pair of squeaky shoes.
ANALISE cheered up the most quickly (about 15 minutes!), plus she seemed to understand the bad Chinese I spoke to her. And, she's still the Little General- how could they tell, so early in her life?
LEWIS screeched so loudly, so many times a day, that he's probably on the list of permanently banned guests at the White Swan Hotel.
ELIZABETH, I think, was told she was going to be a princess in the land of milk and honey, and she's still waiting to get there!!
Maybe I'm biased, but I think they're about the cutest kids in the universe (with apologies to all my OTHER nieces and nephews), and I love seeing their day to day lives on this blog!
Aunt Suzie
Thank you for commenting on my blog about the Moon Festival, I love your ideas. Your babies are beautiful and they look so happy. My daughter is also from Inner Mongolia.
By the way, everyone should have an aunt Suzie. What a sweetheart.
Yoli
Well the preacher listened to the choir. Spank you very much for the debriefing. I hate feeling lost.
All the kids are beaming. Is there any rivalry given their close age proximity (please tell me yes, so I'll feel better.)
What a beautiful family you have
and thanks so much for your comment today.
It's always fun getting flamed on your own blog!!!
I see that crazy lady is here too....
you're in trouble now :)
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